Al Ain

The story of Al Ain

Al Ain and the Omani town of Al Buraimi together form the Buraimi Oasis. The area has been inhabited for nearly 8,000 years, with archaeological sites at Rumailah, Hili and Jebel Hafeet. The early Hafit culture built beehive tombs, and oases later supported farming.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan took the main settlement, then called 'Ain Dhawahir, in 1877 and built a fort there. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, later the founder of the United Arab Emirates, spent considerable time in Al Ain before becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966.

Al Ain Museum opened in 1971, and in 1972 Abu Dhabi and Oman agreed final borders after the Buraimi Dispute. In 2011 UNESCO inscribed the Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and the oasis areas), the first UAE site on the World Heritage List.

Falconry in Al Ain

Al Ain has become a base for teaching falconry to a new generation.

The Mohamed Bin Zayed Falconry and Desert Physiognomy School, initiated in 2016 at the Remah and Telal Resort in the Al Ain region, runs courses on falconry theory, falcon care and training, and had enrolled 2,021 students by March 2021, according to Gulf Today.

It aims to continue the legacy of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in preserving the sport.

In November 2025 the city held the first Al Ain International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition at ADNEC Centre Al Ain, organised with the Emirates Falconers' Club under the patronage of Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The five-day programme included live falconry and sustainable hunting demonstrations alongside Arabian saluki and equestrian displays. The UAE is one of the original submitting states of the 2010 UNESCO falconry inscription.